HPQ » Topics » Settled Litigation and Proceedings

This excerpt taken from the HPQ 10-Q filed Jun 8, 2006.

Settled Litigation and Proceedings

        Gateway Litigation.    On March 1, 2006, HP announced that it had entered into a binding term sheet with Gateway, Inc. ("GW"), eMachines, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gateway ("eMachines"), and Amiga Development LLC, renamed AD Technologies ("ADT" and, collectively with GW and eMachines, "Gateway"), pursuant to which the parties agreed to negotiate and execute a definitive settlement agreement and a definitive patent cross-license agreement to memorialize the terms of their agreement to fully and finally resolve and settle the claims brought against one another and their affiliated entities in various patent infringement and related lawsuits in California and Texas and in proceedings before the United States International Trade Commission ("ITC"). In May 2006, the parties entered into the definitive settlement agreement and the definitive patent cross-license agreement. As part of the overall settlement, and in consideration of the releases and dismissals under the settlement agreement and the benefits under the patent cross-license agreement, Gateway agreed to pay HP a total of $47 million, $25 million which has been paid and $22 million to be paid not later than January 10, 2007. According to the terms of the definitive patent cross-license agreement, each party was granted a limited cross-license to the patents of the other party covering specified products in specified product categories, which license will terminate after a period of seven years with respect to all but seven of the cross-licensed patents and will continue for the life of the remaining seven patents. The lawsuits and proceedings described below will be resolved by the settlement:

    A lawsuit filed against GW by HP and HP's wholly-owned subsidiary, Hewlett-Packard Development Company, LP ("HPDC"), on March 24, 2004 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California alleging infringement of patents relating to various notebook, desktop and enterprise computer technologies and seeking an injunction, unspecified monetary damages, interest and attorneys' fees. The lawsuit included counterclaims brought by GW alleging infringement of various patents relating to computerized television, wireless, computer monitoring and computer expansion card technologies and seeking an injunction, unspecified monetary damages, interest and attorneys' fees.

    A complaint filed by HP and HPDC with the ITC on May 6, 2004 alleging that GW infringed various computer technology patents and seeking an injunction.

    A lawsuit against eMachines filed by HPDC on October 21, 2004 in the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin (and subsequently transferred to the Southern District of Texas) alleging infringement of various HPDC patents relating to personal and desktop computers and seeking an injunction, unspecified monetary damages, interest and attorneys' fees.

    A lawsuit against eMachines filed by HP and HPDC on June 6, 2005 in the Superior Court of California for the County of Santa Clara alleging that eMachines failed to observe its contractual

31


      obligations under the terms of its royalty-bearing license to HP and HPDC and seeking specific performance, specified costs and attorneys' fees.

    A complaint filed by HPDC with the ITC on July 6, 2005 alleging infringement by both GW and eMachines of five computer technology patents and seeking to enjoin GW and eMachines from importing certain personal computers found to infringe the HPDC patents.

    A complaint filed by GW with the ITC on July 2, 2004 alleging HP's infringement of various patents relating to audio control, imaging and computerized television technologies and seeking an injunction against HP's importation of its media center PCs and digital entertainment centers, among other similar multimedia products.

    A lawsuit against HP filed by ADT on July 2, 2004 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas alleging infringement of patents relating to computer monitoring, imaging and decoder technologies and seeking an injunction, unspecified monetary damages, interest and attorneys' fees. The lawsuit included counterclaims brought by HP and HPDC alleging infringement by ADT and GW of HPDC patents related to personal computer technology.

    A declaratory relief action against HPDC filed by GW on August 18, 2004 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California (and subsequently consolidated into the litigation commenced in that court in March 2004) seeking a declaration of non-infringement and invalidity of HPDC's patents relating to personal computer technology. HP and HPDC answered and counterclaimed alleging infringement of the same patents and seeking an injunction, unspecified monetary damages, interest and attorneys' fees.
This excerpt taken from the HPQ 10-K filed Dec 21, 2005.

Settled Litigation and Proceedings

        In March 2003, the Korea Fair Trade Commission commenced an investigation of the Korean printing and supplies market and contacted HP requesting information on its printing systems business. A hearing was held on August 10, 2005, and the matter was concluded without the imposition of any fine on HP.

        EMC Litigation.    HP and EMC Corporation ("EMC") announced on May 2, 2005 that they agreed to dismiss all claims and counterclaims with no findings or admissions of liability in a settlement of a longstanding patent dispute involving patent infringement allegations between the two companies, as described below. As a part of the settlement agreement, HP agreed to pay $325 million (the net amount of the valuation of EMC's claims against HP less the valuation of HP's claims against EMC) to EMC, which HP can satisfy through the purchase for resale or internal use of complementary EMC products, such as the VMware product line, in equal installments over the next five years. In addition, if EMC purchases HP products during the five-year period, HP will be required to purchase an equivalent amount of additional product or services from EMC of up to an aggregate of $108 million. EMC and HP also signed a five-year patent cross-license agreement. HP did not incur a charge with respect to the settlement because HP expected to meet its minimum future purchase commitments under the settlement agreement. HP v. EMC Corporation was a lawsuit filed in United States District Court for the Northern District of California on September 30, 2002, in which HP accused EMC of infringing seven HP patents. HP sought damages, an injunction, prejudgment interest, costs and attorneys' fees. On July 21, 2003, EMC filed its answer and a cross-claim and asserted, among other things, that numerous HP storage, server and printer products infringed six EMC patents. EMC sought a permanent injunction as well as unspecified monetary damages, costs and attorneys' fees for patent infringement. On November 27, 2004, HP filed a second lawsuit against EMC in United States District Court for the Northern District of California, in which HP accused additional models of certain EMC products of infringing the same seven HP patents. HP sought damages, an injunction, prejudgment interest, costs and attorneys' fees. EMC also filed suit against StorageApps, a company acquired by HP in fiscal 2001, in United States District Court in Worcester, Massachusetts on October 20, 2000. The suit accused StorageApps of infringement of EMC patents relating to storage devices and sought a permanent injunction as well as unspecified monetary damages for patent infringement. Following a trial in May 2004, the jury found that three of EMC's patents were valid and infringed. The parties agreed to binding arbitration on the issue of damages. HP appealed the judgment of liability. All of the foregoing litigation has been resolved in connection with the settlement agreement discussed above.

        Intergraph Litigation.    On January 21, 2005, HP announced that it had settled all ongoing patent litigation with Intergraph Corporation, as described below, and that the companies had entered into a patent cross-license agreement. The agreement resolved all legal claims between the two companies and their subsidiaries. Under the terms of the agreement, HP agreed to pay Intergraph $141 million, of which $116 million was recorded as a charge in the first quarter of fiscal 2005 since it related to the cross-license agreement for products shipped in prior years. Both HP and Intergraph have since dismissed, withdrawn or terminated with prejudice all pending lawsuits, and neither company will have any further financial obligations stemming from any such disputes. According to the terms of the cross-license agreement, HP was granted a license to all Intergraph patents for all fields of use. Intergraph was granted a license to all HP patents in specific fields covered by Intergraph's then current product categories. Intergraph Hardware Technologies Company v. HP, Dell & Gateway was a lawsuit filed in

126



United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall County, on December 16, 2002. The suit accused HP of infringement of three patents related to cache memory, known as the "Clipper Patents." Intergraph sought damages constituting a "reasonable royalty" (as well as enhanced damages), an injunction, prejudgment interest, costs and attorneys' fees. On May 7, 2004, Intergraph sued HP in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Tyler County, for infringement of a patent related to cache memory management. Intergraph sought an injunction, declaratory relief and attorneys' fees, but not damages. HP answered and counterclaimed, asserting Intergraph's infringement of two HP software patents. HP sought damages and an injunction. On May 28, 2003, HP sued Intergraph Corporation, the parent of Intergraph, in United States District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division, accusing Intergraph Corporation of infringement of four HP patents related to computer-aided design, video display technology and information retrieval technology. HP sought damages, an injunction, prejudgment interest, costs and attorneys' fees. On April 1, 2004, HP sued Intergraph Corporation in the Mannheim State Court in Mannheim, Germany, and instituted related proceedings in Germany, for infringement of two European Union patents related to computer-aided design. HP sought damages, an injunction and costs. Trial took place in November 2004, and the court dismissed HP's action based on a determination of Intergraph's noninfringement on January 7, 2005. On April 19, 2004, HP sued Z/I Imaging, a subsidiary of Intergraph Corporation, and Intergraph Corporation, in United States District Court for the District of Delaware, accusing Z/I Imaging of infringement of two patents related to image scanning technology. Also on April 19, 2004, HP sued Intergraph Corporation in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas for infringement of one patent relating to computer-aided design. In both cases, HP sought damages, an injunction, prejudgment interest, costs and attorneys' fees. All of the foregoing litigation has been resolved in connection with the settlement agreement discussed above.

        Stevens v. HP (renamed as Erickson v. HP) was an unfair business practices consumer class action filed in the Superior Court of California in Riverside County on July 31, 2000, which alleged various violations of California state law, including unfair competition, fraud and negligent misrepresentation. Consumer class action lawsuits were filed, in coordination with the original plaintiffs, in 33 additional jurisdictions, which alleged similar claims based on the same set of facts. The various plaintiffs throughout the country claimed to have purchased different models of HP inkjet printers. The basic factual allegation of these actions was that affected consumers who purchased HP printers received half-full or "economy" ink cartridges instead of full cartridges. Plaintiffs claimed that HP's advertising, packaging and marketing representations for the printers led the consumers to believe they would receive "full" cartridges. These actions sought injunctive relief, disgorgement of profits, compensatory damages, punitive damages and attorneys' fees under various state unfair business practices statutes and common law claims of fraud and negligent misrepresentation. In the initial California matter, Erickson v. HP, the court granted summary judgment in HP's favor and denied class certification. In October 2003, the California appellate court tentatively affirmed the lower court's decisions, and plaintiffs subsequently dismissed the appeal prior to the time the appellate court could enter its ruling. The matter was certified as a class action in North Carolina state court, where it was filed as Hughes v. Hewlett-Packard Company. HP prevailed at the trial of this case, which concluded in September 2003. Pursuant to a dismissal agreement signed by HP and plaintiffs' counsel in each jurisdiction, all remaining actions have been dismissed.

127



        Canada Dispute.    The Government of Canada conducted cost audits of certain contracts between Public Works and Government Services Canada ("PWGSC") and each of Compaq Canada Corp. and Hewlett-Packard (Canada) Co. relating to services provided to the Canadian Department of National Defence ("DND"). Compaq Canada Corp. was combined with Hewlett-Packard (Canada) Co. following HP's acquisition of Compaq. HP cooperated fully with the audit and conducted its own inquiry, sharing the results of its investigation with PWGSC and DND. On May 14, 2004, HP announced that it had resolved the dispute with the Government of Canada. HP Canada agreed to reimburse the Government of Canada the sum of CDN$146 million (approximately US $105 million), an amount determined by both parties to be appropriate upon investigation. HP recorded $70 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2004 and recorded $35 million in fiscal 2003. HP determined that it was important for HP to honor its contractual obligations, rather than engage in protracted litigation with the Government of Canada, despite the lack of evidence that HP employees derived any improper benefit from the complex scheme designed to exploit both parties. HP has entered into agreements to recover, and has recovered, approximately $10 million of these funds from certain responsible individuals and continues to consider further proceedings against others to recover additional funds.

This excerpt taken from the HPQ 10-Q filed Sep 8, 2005.

Settled Litigation and Proceedings

        EMC Litigation. HP and EMC Corporation ("EMC") announced on May 2, 2005 that they agreed to dismiss all claims and counterclaims with no findings or admissions of liability in a settlement of a longstanding patent dispute involving patent infringement allegations between the two companies, as described below. As a part of the settlement agreement, HP agreed to pay $325 million (the net amount of the valuation of EMC's claims against HP less the valuation of HP's claims against EMC) to EMC, which HP can satisfy through the purchase for resale or internal use of complementary EMC products, such as the VMware product line, over the next five years. In addition, if EMC purchases HP products during the five-year period, HP will be required to make an equivalent amount of additional product or services purchases from EMC of up to an aggregate of $108 million. EMC and HP also signed a five-year patent cross-license agreement. HP did not incur a charge with respect to the settlement because HP expected to meet its minimum future purchase commitments under the settlement agreement. HP v. EMC Corporation was a lawsuit filed in United States District Court for the Northern District of California on September 30, 2002, in which HP accused EMC of infringing seven HP patents. HP sought damages, an injunction, prejudgment interest, costs and attorneys' fees. On July 21, 2003, EMC filed its answer and a cross-claim and asserted, among other things, that numerous HP storage, server and printer products infringed six EMC patents. EMC sought a permanent injunction as well as unspecified monetary damages, costs and attorneys' fees for patent infringement. On November 27, 2004, HP filed a second lawsuit against EMC in United States District Court for the Northern District of California, in which HP accused additional models of certain EMC

31


products of infringing the same seven HP patents. HP sought damages, an injunction, prejudgment interest, costs and attorneys' fees. EMC also filed suit against StorageApps, a company acquired by HP in fiscal 2001, in United States District Court in Worcester, Massachusetts on October 20, 2000. The suit accused StorageApps of infringement of EMC patents relating to storage devices, and sought a permanent injunction as well as unspecified monetary damages for patent infringement. Following a trial in May 2004, the jury found that three of EMC's patents were valid and infringed. The parties agreed to binding arbitration on the issue of damages. HP appealed the judgment of liability. All of the foregoing litigation has been resolved in connection with the settlement agreement discussed above.

        Intergraph Litigation. On January 21, 2005, HP announced that it had settled all ongoing patent litigation with Intergraph Corporation, as described below, and that the companies had entered into a patent cross-license agreement. The agreement resolved all legal claims between the two companies and their subsidiaries. Under the terms of the agreement, HP agreed to pay Intergraph $141 million, of which $116 million was recorded as a charge in the first quarter of fiscal 2005 since it related to the cross-license agreement for products shipped in prior years. Both HP and Intergraph have since dismissed, withdrawn or terminated with prejudice all pending lawsuits, and neither company will have any further financial obligations stemming from any such disputes. According to the terms of the cross-license agreement, HP was granted a license to all Intergraph patents for all fields of use. Intergraph was granted a license to all HP patents in specific fields covered by Intergraph's then current product categories. Intergraph Hardware Technologies Company v. HP, Dell & Gateway was a lawsuit filed in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall County, on December 16, 2002. The suit accused HP of infringement of three patents related to cache memory (the "Clipper Patents"). Intergraph sought damages constituting a "reasonable royalty" (as well as enhanced damages), an injunction, prejudgment interest, costs and attorneys' fees. On May 7, 2004, Intergraph sued HP in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Tyler County, for infringement of a patent related to cache memory management. Intergraph sought an injunction, declaratory relief and attorneys' fees, but not damages. HP answered and counterclaimed, asserting Intergraph's infringement of two HP software patents. HP sought damages and an injunction. On May 28, 2003, HP sued Intergraph Corporation, the parent of Intergraph, in United States District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division, accusing Intergraph Corporation of infringement of four HP patents related to computer-aided design, video display technology and information retrieval technology. HP sought damages, an injunction, prejudgment interest, costs and attorneys' fees. On April 1, 2004, HP sued Intergraph Corporation in the Mannheim State Court in Mannheim, Germany, and instituted related proceedings in Germany, for infringement of two European Union patents related to computer-aided design. HP sought damages, an injunction and costs. Trial took place in November 2004, and the court dismissed HP's action based on a determination of Intergraph's noninfringement on January 7, 2005. On April 19, 2004, HP sued Z/I Imaging, a subsidiary of Intergraph Corporation, and Intergraph Corporation, in United States District Court for the District of Delaware, accusing Z/I Imaging of infringement of two patents related to image scanning technology. Also on April 19, 2004, HP sued Intergraph Corporation in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas for infringement of one patent relating to computer-aided design. In both cases, HP sought damages, an injunction, prejudgment interest, costs and attorneys' fees. All of the foregoing litigation has been resolved in connection with the settlement agreement discussed above.

32



        Stevens v. HP (renamed as Erickson v. HP) was an unfair business practices consumer class action filed in the Superior Court of California in Riverside County on July 31, 2000, which alleged various violations of California state law, including unfair competition, fraud and negligent misrepresentation. Consumer class action lawsuits were filed, in coordination with the original plaintiffs, in 33 additional jurisdictions, which alleged similar claims based on the same set of facts. The various plaintiffs throughout the country claimed to have purchased different models of HP inkjet printers. The basic factual allegation of these actions was that affected consumers who purchased HP printers received half-full or "economy" ink cartridges instead of full cartridges. Plaintiffs claimed that HP's advertising, packaging and marketing representations for the printers led the consumers to believe they would receive "full" cartridges. These actions sought injunctive relief, disgorgement of profits, compensatory damages, punitive damages and attorneys' fees under various state unfair business practices statutes and common law claims of fraud and negligent misrepresentation. In the initial California matter, Erickson v. HP, the court granted summary judgment in HP's favor and denied class certification. In October of 2003, the California appellate court tentatively affirmed the lower court's decisions; plaintiffs dismissed the appeal prior to the time the appellate court could enter its ruling. The matter was certified as a class action in North Carolina state court, where it was filed as Hughes v. Hewlett-Packard Company. HP prevailed at the trial of this case, which concluded in September 2003. Pursuant to a dismissal agreement signed by HP and plaintiffs' counsel in each jurisdiction, all remaining actions have been dismissed.

        Canada Dispute. The Government of Canada conducted cost audits of certain contracts between Public Works and Government Services Canada ("PWGSC") and each of Compaq Canada Corp. and Hewlett-Packard (Canada) Co. relating to services provided to the Canadian Department of National Defence ("DND"). Compaq Canada Corp. was combined with Hewlett-Packard (Canada) Co. following HP's acquisition of Compaq. HP cooperated fully with the audit and conducted its own inquiry, sharing the results of its investigation with PWGSC and DND. On May 14, 2004, HP announced that it had resolved the dispute with the Government of Canada. HP Canada agreed to reimburse the Government of Canada the sum of CDN$146 million (approximately US$105 million), an amount determined by both parties to be appropriate upon investigation. HP recorded $70 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2004 and recorded $35 million in the prior fiscal year. HP determined that it was important for HP to honor its contractual obligations, rather than engage in protracted litigation with the Government of Canada, despite the lack of evidence that HP employees derived any improper benefit from the complex scheme designed to exploit both parties. HP has entered into agreements to recover, and has recovered, a portion of these funds from certain responsible individuals and continues to consider further proceedings against others to recover additional funds.

This excerpt taken from the HPQ 10-Q filed Jun 8, 2005.

Settled Litigation and Proceedings

        EMC Litigation. HP and EMC Corporation ("EMC") announced on May 2, 2005 that they agreed to dismiss all claims and counterclaims with no findings or admissions of liability in a settlement of a

30


longstanding patent dispute involving patent infringement allegations between the two companies, as described below. As a part of the settlement agreement, HP agreed to pay $325 million (the net amount of the valuation of EMC's claims against HP less the valuation of HP's claims against EMC) to EMC, which HP can satisfy through the purchase for resale or internal use of complementary EMC products, such as the VMware product line, over the next five years. In addition, if EMC purchases HP products during the five-year period, HP will be required to make an equivalent amount of additional product or services purchases from EMC of up to an aggregate of $108 million. EMC and HP also signed a five-year patent cross-license agreement. HP did not incur a charge with respect to the settlement because HP expected to meet its minimum future purchase commitments under the settlement agreement. HP v. EMC Corporation was a lawsuit filed in United States District Court for the Northern District of California on September 30, 2002, in which HP accused EMC of infringing seven HP patents. HP sought damages, an injunction, prejudgment interest, costs and attorneys' fees. On July 21, 2003, EMC filed its answer and a cross-claim and asserted, among other things, that numerous HP storage, server and printer products infringed six EMC patents. EMC sought a permanent injunction as well as unspecified monetary damages, costs and attorneys' fees for patent infringement. On November 27, 2004, HP filed a second lawsuit against EMC in United States District Court for the Northern District of California, in which HP accused additional models of certain EMC products of infringing the same seven HP patents. HP sought damages, an injunction, prejudgment interest, costs and attorneys' fees. EMC also filed suit against StorageApps, a company acquired by HP in fiscal 2001, in United States District Court in Worcester, Massachusetts on October 20, 2000. The suit accused StorageApps of infringement of EMC patents relating to storage devices, and sought a permanent injunction as well as unspecified monetary damages for patent infringement. Following a trial in May 2004, the jury found that three of EMC's patents were valid and infringed. The parties agreed to binding arbitration on the issue of damages. HP appealed the judgment of liability. All of the foregoing litigation has been resolved in connection with the settlement agreement discussed above.

        Intergraph Litigation. On January 21, 2005, HP announced that it had settled all ongoing patent litigation with Intergraph Corporation, as described below, and that the companies had entered into a patent cross-license agreement. The agreement resolved all legal claims between the two companies and their subsidiaries. Under the terms of the agreement, HP agreed to pay Intergraph $141 million, of which $116 million was recorded as a charge in the first quarter of fiscal 2005 since it related to the cross-license agreement for products shipped in prior years. Both HP and Intergraph have since dismissed, withdrawn or terminated with prejudice all pending lawsuits, and neither company will have any further financial obligations stemming from any such disputes. According to the terms of the cross-license agreement, HP was granted a license to all Intergraph patents for all fields of use. Intergraph was granted a license to all HP patents in specific fields covered by Intergraph's then current product categories. Intergraph Hardware Technologies Company v. HP, Dell & Gateway was a lawsuit filed in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall County, on December 16, 2002. The suit accused HP of infringement of three patents related to cache memory (the "Clipper Patents"). Intergraph sought damages constituting a "reasonable royalty" (as well as enhanced damages), an injunction, prejudgment interest, costs and attorneys' fees. On May 7, 2004, Intergraph sued HP in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Tyler County, for infringement of a patent related to cache memory management. Intergraph sought an injunction, declaratory relief and attorneys' fees, but not damages. HP answered and counterclaimed, asserting Intergraph's infringement

31



of two HP software patents. HP sought damages and an injunction. On May 28, 2003, HP sued Intergraph Corporation, the parent of Intergraph, in United States District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division, accusing Intergraph Corporation of infringement of four HP patents related to computer-aided design, video display technology and information retrieval technology. HP sought damages, an injunction, prejudgment interest, costs and attorneys' fees. On April 1, 2004, HP sued Intergraph Corporation in the Mannheim State Court in Mannheim, Germany, and instituted related proceedings in Germany, for infringement of two European Union patents related to computer-aided design. HP sought damages, an injunction and costs. Trial took place in November 2004, and the court dismissed HP's action based on a determination of Intergraph's noninfringement on January 7, 2005. On April 19, 2004, HP sued Z/I Imaging, a subsidiary of Intergraph Corporation, and Intergraph Corporation, in United States District Court for the District of Delaware, accusing Z/I Imaging of infringement of two patents related to image scanning technology. Also on April 19, 2004, HP sued Intergraph Corporation in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas for infringement of one patent relating to computer-aided design. In both cases, HP sought damages, an injunction, prejudgment interest, costs and attorneys' fees. All of the foregoing litigation has been resolved in connection with the settlement agreement discussed above.

        Stevens v. HP (renamed as Erickson v. HP) was an unfair business practices consumer class action filed in the Superior Court of California in Riverside County on July 31, 2000, which alleged various violations of California state law, including unfair competition, fraud and negligent misrepresentation. Consumer class action lawsuits were filed, in coordination with the original plaintiffs, in 33 additional jurisdictions, which alleged similar claims based on the same set of facts. The various plaintiffs throughout the country claimed to have purchased different models of HP inkjet printers. The basic factual allegation of these actions was that affected consumers who purchased HP printers received half-full or "economy" ink cartridges instead of full cartridges. Plaintiffs claimed that HP's advertising, packaging and marketing representations for the printers led the consumers to believe they would receive "full" cartridges. These actions sought injunctive relief, disgorgement of profits, compensatory damages, punitive damages and attorneys' fees under various state unfair business practices statutes and common law claims of fraud and negligent misrepresentation. In the initial California matter, Erickson v. HP, the court granted summary judgment in HP's favor and denied class certification. In October of 2003, the California appellate court tentatively affirmed the lower court's decisions; plaintiffs dismissed the appeal prior to the time the appellate court could enter its ruling. The matter was certified as a class action in North Carolina state court, where it was filed as Hughes v. Hewlett-Packard Company. HP prevailed at the trial of this case, which concluded in September 2003. Pursuant to a dismissal agreement signed by HP and plaintiffs' counsel in each jurisdiction, all remaining actions have been dismissed.

        Canada Dispute. The Government of Canada conducted cost audits of certain contracts between Public Works and Government Services Canada ("PWGSC") and each of Compaq Canada Corp. and Hewlett-Packard (Canada) Co. relating to services provided to the Canadian Department of National Defence ("DND"). Compaq Canada Corp. was combined with Hewlett-Packard (Canada) Co. following HP's acquisition of Compaq. HP cooperated fully with the audit and conducted its own inquiry, sharing the results of its investigation with PWGSC and DND. On May 14, 2004, HP announced that it had resolved the dispute with the Government of Canada. HP Canada agreed to reimburse the Government of Canada the sum of CDN$146 million (approximately US$105 million), an amount determined by

32



both parties to be appropriate upon investigation. HP recorded $70 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2004 and recorded $35 million in the prior fiscal year. HP determined that it was important for HP to honor its contractual obligations, rather than engage in protracted litigation with the Government of Canada, despite the lack of evidence that HP employees derived any improper benefit from the complex scheme designed to exploit both parties. HP has entered into agreements to recover a portion of these funds from certain responsible individuals and continues to consider further proceedings against others to recover additional funds.

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